Global fatty‑liver numbers rising
Analysts warn metabolic dysfunction‑associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) could reach about 1.8 billion people by 2050, with reports citing a 2023 prevalence near 16.1% and other estimates that 1.3 billion people were affected in 2023 — large, rising figures tied to obesity and high blood sugar trends ( ). Those reports link the projections directly to global lifestyle changes and metabolic disease increases (ajmc.com).
A liver condition once labeled “fatty liver” now affects about 1.3 billion people worldwide and could reach 1.8 billion by 2050, according to a new Lancet analysis. (thelancet.com) The disease is called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD, and it means fat builds up in the liver in people with metabolic risk factors such as obesity, high blood sugar, or type 2 diabetes. The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology study estimated 2023 prevalence at 14,429.3 cases per 100,000 people, or about 16.1% of the world’s population. (thelancet.com) MASLD is the broad category, while metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis is the more dangerous form that adds liver inflammation and can progress to scarring, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. A 2025 Nature Reviews Disease Primers article said MASLD is the most common liver disease worldwide and affects more than one-third of adults by some adult-focused estimates. (nature.com) The new projections tie the rise to the same trends driving obesity and diabetes. The World Health Organization said 890 million adults were living with obesity in 2022, while the International Diabetes Federation said 11.1% of adults aged 20 to 79 were living with diabetes in 2024 and projected that number to 853 million by 2050. (who.int, idf.org) Researchers reported sharp regional gaps. The Lancet study said North Africa and the Middle East had the highest age-standardized prevalence in 2023 at more than 29,000 cases per 100,000 people, while high-income Asia Pacific was near 8,650 per 100,000. (thelancet.com) The naming changed recently too. In June 2023, liver societies including the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases replaced “nonalcoholic fatty liver disease” with MASLD under a broader “steatotic liver disease” umbrella, partly to better reflect metabolic drivers and reduce stigma in the old label. (aasld.org) Treatment options are starting to change, but slowly. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved resmetirom in March 2024 as the first drug for adults with non-cirrhotic steatohepatitis and moderate to advanced fibrosis, and the agency said it should be used along with diet and exercise. (fda.gov) Liver specialists say prevention still sits mostly outside the liver clinic. The European Association for the Study of the Liver told the World Health Organization in 2023 that MASLD should be folded into non-communicable disease strategies because obesity, diabetes, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and cardiovascular disease are now moving together. (easl.eu) The central problem in the new numbers is scale: a disease that is often silent is rising alongside the world’s biggest metabolic illnesses, and the latest forecast says the count is still climbing. (thelancet.com, idf.org, who.int)
